Sony RDR-GX300 DVD Recorder

Created for first-time users, Sony's RDR-GX300 DVD recorder offers the widest selection of recording and viewing choices available, handling both DVD+RW/+R and DVD-RW/-R discs. It even includes an IR blaster for satellite and cable-box control. Instead of fumbling with 2 remote controls when using the timer function to record your favorite programs, the RDR-GX300's remote lets you select the channel directly from your set-top box(es).

An easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) grants easy recording from broadcast programs via off-air antenna, cable, or satellite receivers. Recording features include chasing playback and simultaneous recording and playback (in DVD-RW VR mode) for a greater recording and viewing flexibility. Chasing playback lets you rewind the recorded material while a program is still recording to view and catch up to the real time recording. Simultaneous recording and playback lets you watch pre-recorded content while recording new content to the same disc.
The RDR-GX300 also features Time Base Correction, pre-frame noise reduction, and pre-video equalizer technologies that rebalance and equalize video content before it's recorded onto a DVD, improving the original source content even before the encoding process begins. In the output phase, the RDR-GX300 recorder combines frame noise reduction, block noise reduction, and video equalizer technologies to produce a rich and textured visual with minimal picture interference from background artifacts or distortion.
Amazon.com Product Description

Sony RDR-GX300 DVD Recorder

Finally, the recorder offers proprietary DVD playback technology called Precision Cinema Progressive, which incorporates Pixel-by-Pixel I/P Conversion technology to augment and balance DVD-video elements. You'll need a high-definition or HD-ready television to appreciate this process. A 12-bit/108 MHz video D/A converter ensures exceptional picture quality for an unforgettable viewing experience, while audio decoding occurs at an amazing 192 kHz/24-bits.
What's in the Box
DVD recorder/player, remote control, remote batteries, a user's manual, stereo analog audio interconnect/composite-video cable, and an RF coaxial video cable.

Product Description
After trying the Sony RDR-GX300 and experiencing first-hand the convenience, quality, and durability of DVD recording, you'll never go back to videotapes! The RDR-GX300 has all the recording features you're used to with a VCR: a built-in TV tuner, clock/timer, and VCR Plus+®. With the mutli-format capabilities of the 'GX300, you can choose the right type of blank disc for the job, whether it's rewriteable (erasable) DVD-RW or DVD+RW for capturing your favorite TV shows, or write-once DVD-R for archiving your home videos. Either way, you'll be able to make quick and precise edits using the recorder's simple on-screen editing functions. Record several shows in one session on a DVD-RW, then go back afterwards and put in separate chapter markers for each show, for example. You can even select the recording mode that best suits your needs, ranging from 1-hour (highest quality) to 6-hour (VHS-quality).The RDR-GX300 makes a great DVD player, too. It can also play audio CDs, as well as MP3 files on recordable CDs.

Test report

the best I've tried, April 27, 2005 Reviewer: S. dyer -
I had another brand which went bad twice and replaced it with this Sony. Very satisfied with the video and sound and very easy to use. A very good deal for the price.



Works great, easy to hook up!, April 11, 2005 Reviewer: Eric G. Jensen "jensenfamily8" (Springfield, MO United States) -
This DVD recorder is logically set up and the menus rock! The picture quality was outstanding. Manuals make sense. If you have any trouble getting the DVDs to work in other machines make sure your other DVD players are new. Most older machines do not support DVD-R DVD+ etc. Overall, a great purchase and a great price.



Let go of the 80s! Burn TV on DVD!, March 25, 2005 Reviewer: Growman (Greenland) -
END OF SNOW! No, not Christmas! Snow on the screen! It is all over baby! Now is the time to end your VHS era. A SONY GX is a good deal. For SONY equipment I believe this is cheap. Any working Sony RDR-GX series has been a good buy for me. The RDR-GX is the answer to finally packing away that VHS and the VCR into the family time capsule. Using the port inputs I copied over the collection in a month and a bit at my leisure. Now my shelf has 10 times as much space for more DVDs. DVD recorders are bulky. Don't expect to find anything as small as a VCR or a brand new DVD player on the cheap; however there are relatively cheap RDR-GX recorders still in the shops. Go now. Getting anything, especially above the GX3 model or better, is going to last you a long time because the format is here to stay. The RDR-GX is uncomplicated to operate and set-up out of the box. It is simply - television aerial to aerial in, to SCART out, check the `tech specs' to make sure it has the INS and OUTS you want to use, or else you will have to adapt your system to meet the specs. The test of a recorder is in how it handles formatting, recording and more importantly, finalizing DVDs so that they will work on other DVD players, including PCs. The SONY GX can in theory burn a DVD for almost any type of player. If you do not burn your DVDs for all players then what is point if the recorder breaks or a new model comes out that is not backward compatible for some reason? Problem is that none of these manufacturers want you to find a way to get out of their brand (what you learn next here is not in the manual). The truth is that you got to start learning the recording formatting methods from the word go. When a blank DVD media is inserted into the drive it asks you to choose a format sometimes. Don't worry about big print on the screen during formatting, just switch over to your normal channel and not the one the DVD Recorder uses. VR or Video will appear. If you choose Video the recording is locked into the DVD and can not be moved around, like editing. In VR the video is not locked into the DVD and can be edited in the DVD. Problem is that DVD-VR has trouble playing back on some other drives. Using Video format is much more compatible, however you must `finalize' your DVDs. This is done by using in-recorder software tools that finish the DVD so that it can play on other DVD players. Although not all DVDs need to be finalized to do this, you should be able to burn a format that works on a number of other DVD players. The way to do this is with DVD+RW media. If it does not work then switch media brand a few times before resigning to DVD-RW. +RW may not ask you for a formatting mode (VR or Video), in which case the disk just needs to be finalized and it will work on your other players. Another tip is to complete burn DVD media in this system. That means, do not press STOP and let the system stop when the whole DVD is packed. This helps add integrity to the DVD format and information. Stopping a recording can sometimes corrupt a DVD. If you do stop you can sometimes record another piece, and so on, like chapters. However this can cause some DVD media to fail in other systems. There are several recording modes from high definition 60 minute modes to 3 hour extra long playback modes. Test your media compatibility first before you start collecting anything. Get it right from the start. DVD media is prone to failing. Don't sweat. Just test and test and find the solution. It is usually a four step - brand, type, formatting, finalizing. A good brand DVD+RW should help solve most problems. Test your media on your PC every so often to make sure it is good. This is the key to creating very flexible DVD recordings - Global DVDs.

The RDR-GX series can render some PC analogue capture cards useless. This will do all analogue tapes through S-Video or Composite to DVD. Again check specs and you might not have to get a capture board for the PC. As for just sticking with the SONY RDR-GX, well this is why 5 stars. The RDR-GX recorders are rock solid. The media has to be very faulty for this drive to fail. It will burn to almost any DVD media and read from almost any DVD media that it burns. It is 100% reliable as a burner or else it is the media. You can jump in a disc and format it very quickly for a recording you want to make that is a few minutes away from airing knowing safely that you can view that DVD again when it has completely burned to the end (do not trust STOPS). Obviously these DVDs should be backward compatible always with future DVD RW technology recorders, but do the above to be global with your recordings. In that respect this is SONY quality burning on anything and that is very cool. The only reason not to get a RDR-GX is if you want a Hard Drive in the system that can store your video. I have never needed one to be honest. I don't burn DVDs fast enough to need a hard drive. RDR-GX defines faultless DVD technology although takes a bit of working to make it "Faultless Global DVD Technology".



Sony and DVD+RW are the way to go, August 14, 2004 Reviewer: hockeyrules (USA) - I had the Sony RDR-GX300 DVD recorder set up in less than half an hour. The remote control is fairly user-friendly, but there is one aspect that is not mentioned in the user manual. There is a panel at the bottom of the remote control which you must slide towards you to reveal the buttons for recording. Most user manuals for electronic products are disorganized and this is no exception. The DVD recorder itself is excellent. I purchased a Philips DVDR985A DVD recorder last year which has a few features that the Sony RDR-GX300 doesn't have. However, the RDR-GX300 is the best choice especially since all Philips DVD recorder suffer from DISC ERROR and DISC WARNING problems no matter which brand of blank DVD media is used. I use Verbatim DataLife Plus DVD+RW blank media with both the Sony and the Philips, and I've had no problems with the Sony RDR-GX300. Here are the pros and cons of this unit:

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PROS
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The RDR-GX300 can record on all four DVD formats: DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW. I use DVD+RW because it is the most versatile and doesn't require finalization which takes several minutes on the other formats. Also, rewritable disks can be rewritten about 1,000 times.

Recording modes on the Sony RDR-GX300:
HQ = 1 hour
HSP = 1.5 hours
SP = 2 hours
LP = 3 hours
EP = 4 hours
SLP = 6 hours

The extended modes do not display much pixellation compared to the Philips DVDR985A. Sony's video capabilities have always been superb in all of their products.

After pressing the Record button, the RDR-GX300 starts recording immediately. The Philips DVDR985A takes a full second. If either unit has been idle for half an hour or more, they go into sleep mode, so pressing the Record button results in the recording starting 5 seconds later. Therefore, if the unit has been idle with a blank disk already inserted, you may want to eject the disk and insert it again so that there isn't a 5-second delay when you press Record.

The Sony RDR-GX300 automatically titles each recording with the name of the TV show or movie that was recorded. This is a big time saver. The maximum length of a title name is 64 characters. All alphanumeric and punctuation characters are allowed, as well as math and financial symbols such as the British pound and the Japanese yen.

There is an infrared device that extends over the top of the cable box and attaches by cord to the back of the DVD recorder. It allows the DVD recorder's remote control to change the channels on the cable box. It also allows timer recordings on different channels without user intervention on the cable box. During the initial setup, you'll need to enter the code of your cable box that is found in a chart in the back of the user manual.

VCR+ can be used if desired for timer recordings.

Timer recordings will be made regardless of whether or not the DVD recorder is on or off when the timer recording is scheduled to start. Also, if there is not enough room on a disk for a scheduled timer recording, the DVD recorder will automatically adjust the recording mode (SP, LP, EP, etc) so that the entire program will be recorded. And finally, you can extend the duration of a timer recording after it has already started (in case you made a mistake in setting the ending time).

You can fast-forward and fast-rewind at various speeds and each frame is played just like a VCR does. This is not the case with the Philips DVDR985A which doesn't play all frames in fast-forward, so the display jumps from scene to scene.

You can move frame by frame through a recording either forward or reverse. The Philips DVDR985A only goes frame by frame forward, not reverse.

As an option, chapter markers can be added automatically every 6 or 15 minutes during a recording.

Commercials can be edited from a recording on a DVD+RW disk, and they won't appear when played on another DVD player. Simply select Frame A and Frame B, and everything between those two frames will be deleted. This isn't possible with DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD+R. You can erase a block of video on a DVD-RW disk in VR mode, but you can only play the disk on this unit. That's why I always stick with DVD+RW.

You can play the beginning of a recording while it is still recording. This is called Chasing Playback. However, this function doesn't work on 1x-speed DVD-RW or in HQ or HSP recording modes.

You can play a previous recording while recording something else. However, this function doesn't work on 1x-speed DVD-RW or in HQ or HSP recording modes.

===============
CONS
===============
Some operations take a little longer than on other DVD recorders. For example, after inserting a formatted DVD+RW disk, you have to wait 21 seconds for the unit to read the disk even if it's empty. If the disk is not formatted, you have to wait an additional 1 minute and 27 seconds to format it. Therefore, if you insert an unformatted DVD+RW disk, you have to wait a total of 1 minute and 48 seconds to start recording. I format all of my DVD+RW disks ahead of time so that I can start recording 21 seconds after inserting the disk. Also, if you eject a DVD+RW disk after adding, deleting, or editing a title, you have to wait 35 seconds before the disk ejects because the unit has to update the disk. Keep this in mind if you want to record two movies back to back. You'll need a couple of minutes between movies. You won't run into the formatting delay with DVD-RW, but DVD-RW requires finalization which takes several minutes.

When a disk is formatted, the RDR-GX300 displays "Formatting" in a large white rectangle that covers half of the TV screen. The rectangle should be smaller so that you can watch the TV while the disk is formatting.

The Sony RDR-GX300 cannot split a recording into two separate titles on a DVD+RW disk. The Philips DVDR985A allows you to easily split a title. Why would you want to split a title? If you record a Star Trek marathon, you want to split the episodes into separate titles. Sony definitely needs to add this feature for DVD+RW disks.

There are no thumbnail images for each title on a DVD+RW disk -- only on a DVD-RW disk in VR mode which means you can only play it on this unit. The Philips DVDR985A assigns a default thumbnail image to each title on a DVD+RW disk; you can change the thumbnail images later and they will appear in the title menu when played on other DVD players. Sony definitely needs to add thumbnail images to DVD+RW disks.

The title list (i.e., the list of recordings) doesn't show the length in time of the recording. The title list shows the date that each recording was made, but it only shows the month and day, not the year.

It would be nice if the remote control had a button to toggle between uppercase and lowercase characters when entering a title name.

You cannot manually add chapter markers to DVD+RW. They can only be added to a DVD-RW disk in VR mode which means that the disk can only be played on this unit.

The front panel doesn't display the recording mode (SP, LP, EP, etc). You always need to check it after you insert a disk so that you don't accidentally record a 3-hour movie in 2-hour mode and lose part of the movie.

The front panel should permanently display the most severe error that occurred during formatting or recording. If you're not watching the TV when the error occurs, you won't know that an error occurred. This is true with some other DVD recorders as well.

There is no i.LINK (FireWire) interface to connect to camcorders. The Sony RDR-GX7 has this feature.

There is no hard disk. The Sony RDR-HX900 will be released in November or December with a 160GB hard disk as well as an i.LINK (FireWire) interface, but it will have a hefty price tag.

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All in all, the Sony RDR-GX300 is an excellent DVD recorder, and my Philips DVD recorder is now collecting dust in the basement. I'll never buy another Philips product. Hopefully Sony will address some of the things that I've mentioned above. Nevertheless, the RDR-GX300 is top-of-the-line with great video and no problems whatsoever in recording. If you want to look at any of the manuals for Sony DVD recorders, go to www.sonystyle.com and click on Customer Support, then Product Support Site, then Documentation, and then enter the model number.


Product description from Circuit City is wrong, August 4, 2004 Reviewer: video maven (USA) - Contrary to the production description, the Sony RDR-GX300 DVD recorder does not have an i.LINK interface for one-touch transfer from camcorders. The Sony RDR-GX7 does have an i.LINK interface. By the way, Sony plans to release the RDR-HX900 DVD recorder in November 2004. This will be the best DVD recorder on the market because it will have a 160-gigabyte hard disk, an i.LINK interface, and it will support DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW. (...)

Philips and Sony are the major manufacturers of DVD recorders that support DVD+RW. Unfortunately Philips is having a lot of problems with their entire line of DVD recorders. You can read the reviews yourself. I made the mistake of buying the Philips DVDR985 instead of waiting for Sony. I will stick with Sony from now on.




H8L8, November 24, 2004

Reviewer:
H8L8 "H8L8" (Orange County, CA USA) - This was my first DVD recorder purchase and I was concerned with compatibility, ease of use, and reliability. The Sony feature of all 4 formats sets your mind at ease if you're not a veteran. The instructions are straightforward and the setup is pretty easy. I recommend a test disk to play with to get your routine down.

Sony is always a safe buy and this unit is no exception.

not going to be a popular review...., November 12, 2004 Reviewer: The Iceman (HILLSBORO, OR United States) - but one major con to me is that this recorder lacks compatibility to record/play DVD-RAM discs which personally I believe is the best format for recording TV. It allows you to "chase playback", meaning you can watch something on it while it's recording! (both previously recorded or currently being recorded). You can jump to any spot on the disc and begin playing or recording right away - even arrange recorded programs for playback in any order you choose. What a cool feature! DVD-RAM discs can be copied to & erased up to 100K times. DVD-RAM is found on recorders from some toshiba, samsung, jvc, and most panasonics and I believe it's popularity will grow as more people learn of it's capabilities.

The plus format is not as commonly found as the minus is. In fact, I've only seen it supported as far as recorders are concerned from sony. Perhaps that means it's a dying format, I don't know. I hate to have to give sony a "bad" review because I do love their electronics-they are a quality brand, however the lack of DVD-RAM support means I'll be buying another brand. Also tell me how such an expensive recorder from sony doesn't also include an HDMI output and SACD playback??? Also lacks firewire port which is very surprising considering most of the DVD recorders on the market have it. Also lacks JPEG & WMA support. sorry sony you lose!



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Sony RDR-GX300 DVD Recorder

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